Card 1 shows Commander George Philip USN, of Ft. Pierre, S.D. Commander Philip was commanding the USS Twiggs(DD591) (see photo at bottom of page) when it was attacked by kamikaze planes near Okinawa on 16 June, 1945. Commander Philip was hit directly by an attacking plane while he was helping save his wounded comarades. His ship won 4 battle stars before it was sunk.

Card 2 honors General Laverne (Blondie) Saunders, USAAF, of Stratford and Aberdeen, S.D. General Saunders may be the most decorated SouthnDakota officer of the war. He was football coach, and an All-American at West Point before the war. At hickam Field on Dec. 7, 1941, Saunders, then a major commanding the 12 Bombardment Group, was one of the few to get a bomber into the air after the suprise attack. Later, he organized and trained the first B-29 wing (58th Bomb Wing (VH). More information can be found at: http://www.af.mil/news/biographies/saunders_lg.html